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Cleaning your Engine Bay?


CleanGSR

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Well, as requested I'll do a short run through of how I clean my engine bay.

 

1. Get the engine warm (not hot). If the engine's cold then let it idle for about 4 -5 minutes.

 

2. Get a plastic walmart bag and put it around the distributor. Use ducttape to get a decent seal with the bag. Some also suggest taping off the battery terminals, but I'm just careful not to spray them. You'll also want to use a bag and ducttape on the air filter unless you have a CAI like I do.

 

3. Turn off the car and craby an engine degreaser of your choice. (I use CD2). Spray somehwat liberally on all areas of your engine bay and work on hitting all the hard to reach hoses. Be careful not to get it on any of the paint on the fenders, hood, or bumper. This stuff is also a de-waxer. Leave it set for about 15 minutes.

 

4. While the degreaser is sitting grab a brush and work on the really bad areas like the block etc....

 

5. Rinse the engine with running water (not a pressure washer). When you're done rinsing, remove the plastic and tape and inspect to maker sure no water is on those areas.

 

6. Start your car and let the heat assist with drying. After about 5 minutes, grab a couple of towels and start hand drying every area that you can reach.

*Tip* for hard to reach areas, get a toilet brush and wrap a terry cloth around it and ducttape it to the handle. This will let you reach the hoses you can't reach with your hand.

 

7. Grab an engine detailer or even an interior detailer to dress the hoses. Do not use armor all. The silicones in armor all will dry out rubber hoses and cause them to crack over time (Same goes with using the stuff on your interior). So, make sure you use a detailer that doesn't contain silicones. I believe Meguiars interior stuff is a good choice.

 

8. Wax all painted areas under the hood with your sealant or wax of choice. I highly suggest using a sealant over a wax. The high heat from the engine will cause the oils in wax to evaporate much more quickly and you won't have as much protection for as long. Sealants can withstand the heat better without breaking down. Don't forget to re-wax any areas that got overspray from the degreaser like the fenders, etc..

 

You should only have to do this once a year if even that often, assuming that you keep the engine clean. Everytime I wash my car, I pop the hood, grab a microfiber and dry off/wipe down all the areas under the hood so they look as clean as the outside. It only takes me an extra 5 minutes, and really keeps the engine bay looking in top shape.

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Get a plastic walmart bag and put it around the distributor.

 

Does it have to be a Wal-Mart bag for best results, or will a Target back give the same results? :p

 

Thanks for contributing the write-up :thumbsup:

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Sweet. Post up some pics.

 

I should add in this post that sometimes my valve cover looks a little dull and spraying tire wet on a rag and wiping it into the valve cover really makes it shine and look like new. This would only work on the valve covers that are kind of rough textured.

Edited by HungGSR
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i did that.. lol

 

camera sucks.. i am going to a meet and a friend of mine is going to take some semi-pro pics of the civic and his NO2 tuned Cavalier.. and just mine alone.. post when i get home tonight. or whenever he sends them to me.

Edited by 97accordjdm
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You used Hung's method? How'd it work out for you? If you have before and after pics that would be sweet but I'd be interested in hearing the results of this cleaning job before I try it myself.

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i didnt use his method, i used my method which happened to be the same as his.. kinda.

 

just brush thoroughly with simple green, rinse thouroughly, duct tape dizzy, and tire sheen on valve cover, thats what i always do.

 

works great.

 

dont f*ck up or the distributor will go bad and need new rotor and stuff.

 

and never use pressurized water on an engine bay because water can get into the crankcase and mess up the engine.

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I'll be doing a full detail on my mother-in-laws '03 Camry starting tonight and finishing up tomorrow morning. Process is Wash, Clay Bar, Meg's #9, NXT, then tomorrow morning top it off with Megs #26 and an interior clean. Point being, I'll be starting with degreasing and detailing the engine bay. I don't know what it looks like, but I'd imagine pretty dirty. Before and After Pictures of the above process will be coming soon.

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its a bar of clay (detailing clay, its more durable and tough than craft clay) and it removes deposits on the paint, making is slick as crap.

 

i'm a pro car detailer, and i got 2 words of advice.

 

a pressure washer is best choice, but for sensitive areas (sensors, wires, plugs, etc...) just stand back and no pressure will be put on those areas.

 

also, after putting the degreaser on for 15 minutes, put another quick coat on before you wash it off, as some of the degreaser can dry, this will aid in faster cleaning.

 

 

great post hung, alot of people don't know how to do that stuff the easy way and end up f*cking alot of crap up (liek the dizzy)

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The best invention to automotive paint. (not really but it's awesome stuff).

 

Basically to use claybar you spray a section of your car with a Quick Detailer of your choice and rub that surface with this soft clay that comes in the kit. You'll feel how the surface feels rough at first and after a couple of swipes it get's really smooth. Basically clay bar removes all contaminates, fallout, etc. from the clearcoat. It's not to be confused with a polish as a polish doesn't really get all of the contamination off the paint. If it's a car that's never been clay'd then you'll be able to see the clay get dirty as you use it. When it gets dirty just mush it up and the dirt will stay in the middle of the clay and you'll have a clean section of clay again. It really helps the polishes and waxes/sealants bond to the paint better, look better, and last longer. I'll try and show a couple of pics in my new topic tomorrow of the clay bar and what it looks like after a few swipes on a semi-neglected car.

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I've tried Meguiars, Mothers, and Clay Magic clay bars. Clay Magic is without a doubt the best of the three. You can probably find it at either Autozone or Advanced Auto Parts, pepboys.....somewhere like that. You'll have to follow it with a minimum of a wax though cause it will take everything off the clear, contaminants and wax both. They're usually around $10 or so. Really not that bad. If it doesn't come with a Quick Detailer, I reccommend either Mother's QD or Turtle Wax Platinum Ultra Gloss QD. You can possibly find the TWPUG at BigLots for 3.50.

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So, I did a quick and incomplete version of Hung's process today. Quick because I had somewhere to be an hour later that required me to be clean and wearing a suit. Incomplete because I was scared to mess up my engine with all the degreaser and water since I'm a n00b (also I didn't have all the recommended accessories such as the wire brush and the engine dressing).

 

I'm not sure if you can see the difference in these pictures, but I took three before and three after. The difference is noticeable in person, in that the engine goes from hella dirty to kinda still dirty. Now I know I can do this without screwin' up my crap, though, so I'm gonna go get all the stuff and make my engine bay shine someday soon.

 

Here are the pics:

(Before)

100_1545.jpg

100_1546.jpg

100_1547.jpg

(After)

100_1551.jpg

100_1553.jpg

100_1552.jpg

 

Again, the difference is prolly more noticeable in person. I'm happy with the results you can get in about 45 minutes, though. Thanks again, HungGSR.

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I'm gonna grab all the stuff he recommends and clean it again. Perhaps this weekend.

 

My intake is out of an accord, that's why it's so short. It's a temporary one, since it's just an ebay one for the sound, but I figured "Why not?"

 

Edit: It gives me a nice amount of space to V-Tech equip my engine. Phone and all. Picture opening up the hood and showin' off a sweet, sweet V-Tech phone in there and being all like "Yeah, it's V-Tech equipped. That's why I have those side graphics..." Of course the side graphics will have to be spelled wrong.

Edited by TS John
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